Frau Zinnie

Floral Friday: Vacation Day

Normally Floral Friday reflects how my garden looks at this point in the growing season. However, this week brings me to sunny, breezy Rhode Island, so I decided that instead of skipping the feature, I would instead highlight some of the beautiful flowers I have discovered here.

The majority of the flowers are reblooming roses that can be found on the Salve Regina University campus in Newport. (Photos this week are taken with the iPhone.) Enjoy!

What's blooming in your garden this week?

Banana Legs is a nice paste tomato.

I'm in the midst of tomato season at my house. It's been a very good, prolific year, which is a nice change because the last few years have not had the best yields. (Perhaps this year's dry growing season is the reason.)

Nevertheless, I'm trying to use up tomatoes in ways besides making sauce. (Last year I made a big batch of tomato sauce and froze it, but it got buried in the freezer and forgotten about. I haven't mastered canning, with the main hurdle being my ceramic cooktop stove.)

So I am trying to find other creative ways to use up my tomato harvest, besides the obvious tomatoes with mozzarella and bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

This year, after growing Banana Legs tomatoes for the first time, I decided to make yellow tomato soup!

Here is the recipe I use. It is enough for one large serving of tomato soup. If you need to feed more people, double the recipe.

4 cups of chopped tomatoes

1 medium white onion, cut in half (save the half that won't be used for something else)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped up into small pieces.

2 cups of chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth as a substitute)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp all purpose flour

salt, to taste

1 tsp sugar (not needed with yellow paste tomatoes since they are sweeter to begin with)

First, slice up your tomatoes.

Add the chopped onion and garlic.

Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Boil gently for 20 minutes.

It should look like the above photo after 20 minutes. Remove from heat and run the mixture through a strainer. (I don't mind if some pieces of onion or garlic get through, or tomato seeds.)

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, until medium brown. Gradually mix in a bit of the strained tomatoes. Make sure there are no lumps. Add another small addition of the strained tomatoes. Then add this roux to the strained tomato soup. Stir well. Season with salt and sugar to taste.

Makes a generous one portion serving. If you are having grilled cheese or something else with your soup, you can get more servings of soup.

What do you make with your tomatoes?

A beautiful oakleaf hydrangea in Rhode Island.

MIDDLEFIELD, Conn. - Is it time to prune your hydrangeas?

That depends on which of the five varieties of hydrangeas you grow.

Chris Valley, a wholesale plant representative from Prides Corner Farms, Inc., recently visited Country Flower Farms to demonstrate how to successfully prune hydrangeas. (Hydrangea macrophylla - the most popular category - is covered in a separate post found here.)

Hydrangea Quercifolia
Valley's favorite hydrangea is the oakleaf hydrangea, which is a "pretty easy plant to grow." It is hardy to USDA Zone 5 in well-drained soil. It has exfoliating bark which also adds to its design appeal.

"If we didn't cut it, the plant would have no reason to push out new growth," Valley said. "After you cut it off, the plant says, 'My God, I lost half of me!' and will start to grow again."

Hydrangea paniculata blooming
in late August.

This variety of hydrangea does best in part shade and blooms from June to early July. The flowers open white and fade to pink as they age. The leaves will turn a burgundy color in the fall and the flowers (now brown) will stay on the plant all winter long, which can provide winter interest for the garden.

This variety of hydrangea is lightly pruned every year. Reference books agree that this plant blooms on old wood (which typically means pruning now in late summer), but Valley has had success pruning them in the spring by a third.

"Every five years, prune out the old wood to spur new growth inside," he said. "Once it fills back in it will look much better."

Hydrangea Paniculata

Hydrangea paniculata

"Paniculata hydrangeas are tough plants," Valley said. "You have all winter and early spring to prune it back. If you prune in early spring, you end up with larger flowers. If you prune in fall, you get much sturdier stems but smaller flowers."

This variety of hydrangea blooms on new wood, has the ability to reach 6 to 8 feet tall and wide, and will grow in full sun to part shade. A few examples of paniculata hydrangeas are Limelight and Pinky Winky.

Pruning paniculata hydrangeas is a good garden chore for the first warm day of spring when gardeners need an excuse to be outside. "You take about a third of the plant off to increase branches in the growing season," Valley said. When pruning, make sure the cuts are uniform so the entire plant grows at the same rate. "After five years, take out the main branches to reinvigorate the plant and spur new growth."

Hydrangea paniculata

"If you never prune them, the rain will make [the flowers] flop down, and it's hard to get them back up," he said. "An unpruned one will look more wild. A pruned one will be a nice bush," he said.

For the paniculatas offered in tree form, Valley recommended pruning them "hard" for the first couple of years while the branches are still in reach. When it gets to be a tree it will already have its shape. It is hardy to USDA Zone 4.

Hydrangea Arborescens
The most popular varieties in this category are Incrediball, Annabelle and Invincibelle Spirit for either their pink or white flowers.

It is hardy to USDA Zone 4 and will grow in full sun to part shade, roughly 4 to 6 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide.

"This is essential to prune in late fall or early spring, said Valley. The flower buds are formed in late spring and early summer. According to Valley's handout, this plant responds well to being cut back to about 10 inches above the ground to encourage stronger stems and larger flowers. He demonstrates how to prune this variety in the video below:

Hydrangea Anomala 'Petiolaris'

Climbing hydrangea grows
along a brick lamppost.

The climbing hydrangea is the easiest of hydrangeas to grow in that it usually does not require pruning. It can be trained to grow on a wall or trellis, or even a brick or concrete wall. "On places you can't get a clematis or wisteria to vine on - this will work," he said. It climbs by aerial rootlets and does well in full sun to part shade.

Firefly is one of the more popular varieties due to its variegated leaves. The slightly fragrant flowers are 6 to 10 inches across, and it blooms in June for two to three weeks. If pruning is necessary, the best time to do so is right after flowering. The main stems of the plant resemble a tree. "If you saw one of [the stems] off, it will spur new growth," Valley said, which can help fill in barren areas.

It is an adaptable hydrangea, but does very well in rich, well-drained moist soil. It is hardy to USDA Zone 4.

Hydrangea paniculata

A tree form of Hydrangea paniculata.

Floral Friday

What a busy week it has been! Life has kept me away from the garden momentarily, but I did manage to sneak in a little time to photograph flowers for this week's Floral Friday. (Excuse the iPhone photos, the camera batteries were charging!) While there are plenty of flowers still blooming, I unfortunately lost my zinnias to an unknown assailant.

Zinnias beheaded.

Argh! Rabbit? Groundhog? Who knows. But the zinnias that I sowed in July are now beheaded, so it looks like there won't be any blooms from them this year.

But, on a positive note, here is a collection of what is blooming this week in the garden. There are plenty of busy bees, which I'm happy to see in multitudes.

Anemone

Joe Pye Weed

Hibiscus!

Perennial sweet pea, growing along with sweet autumn clematis, one of my favorite
flowers, not yet in bloom - but soon!

Butterfly weed

Perennial geranium

Besides the flowers shown above, most of the garden is taking on a green hue again. Another gap in color, which I hope to correct for next year. What's blooming in your garden this week?

Floral Friday

It seems as if every flower in the garden is competing for best in show this week.

"No, I'm bigger!"

"No, I'm showier!"

"I'm prettier!"

Here are the finalists - I'll let you decide who wins.

Poor hibiscus with sawfly damage ... but look at that color!

I'm lucky that my gladiolus come back every year without me digging them up.

Beauty in numbers for Black Eye Susans.

Love this daylily - it's blooming now when the rest have stopped.

Look at the ruffles! (!!!!)

I know this is the bee's favorite (sedum).

"Sloam Double Standard" Daylily.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is one of my favorite flowers, which begins to bloom at the end of this month.

August is a fast month in the garden with hot days and the slow advancement toward less daylight. To get the most out of your garden this month, here are some guidelines that I will be following.

Seed Starting

Now is the time to divide rhizome irises.

Sow carrot, beet, lettuce, radish, spinach and pea seeds now for a fall crop. I'm going to plant some in my cold frame, too, so I can extend the crops when the days get colder.

Pruning
Prune hydrangeas now for flowers next summer. There is a short three-week window to do this in August; after that, the plants will put their energy into creating flower buds for next year. Read more here.

Cover Crops
As vegetable areas are harvested, start sowing cover crops to help condition the soil this fall and over the winter. I like to use High Mowing Seed's hairy vetch and winter rye mix.

Divide Irises
This can be started in July and continued throughout this month in the Northeast. Irises should be divided every three to five years, or when clumps start to lack flowers. There's a helpful article on dividing and transplanting rhizome iris here.

Watering
The garden usually needs help this month with water, so keep an eye on plants. The best time to water is in the morning.

Poor perennial hibiscus with sawfly damage.

Pests
Keep shaking Japanese beetles into cups of soapy water to get rid of them. The best time to do this is in the morning or early evening hours, when they are not as active. Have you applied neem oil to your perennial hibiscus? I forgot to this year and the hibiscus sawfly is having a field day eating the leaves. The plants are flowering now.

Bulbs
Now is the time to figure out where you want to plant and what you want to order for spring blooming bulbs. Typically, the earlier your order, the better the availability.

Remember to get outside and enjoy the flowers! Summer is fleeting - onward!

Endless Summer blooms in my 2013 garden.
My plant lost many of its flower buds that were
formed on old wood last fall but killed with the
excessive cold and windy winter. Now in the garden,
it is only flowering from the new stems.

MIDDLEFIELD, Conn. - Are your hydrangeas not blooming this summer? You're not alone.

Old man winter is still wrecking havoc for Connecticut gardeners this summer. Last year's excessive cold, windy and lack of snow cover early on in Connecticut is to blame for the lack of hydrangea blossoms this summer, according to Chris Valley of Prides Corner Farms, Inc., a wholesale plant representative for Country Flower Farms.

Most of the hydrangeas that are without flowers fall in the hydrangea macrophylla category, which bloom on old wood (think Nikko Blue and Endless Summer as well as other mophead or lacecap hydrangeas). This is a popular category of hydrangeas because they are the most colorful.

"They put all their emphasis on creating flower buds in the fall that are then carried into winter," Valley said. "There is such a big time period when things can go wrong."

Newer varieties like Endless Summer, Blushing Bride, Twist & Shout and Let's Dance have the ability to bloom on both old and new wood, which eliminates the danger of losing all flowers. This year, however, the first wave of hydrangea flowers didn't occur for many of these varieties.

What gardeners were left with were several brown, dead branches that were killed. Wind damage was the culprit. These dead branches can be removed in spring. (Afraid it's not dead? Use your fingernail to scrape the bark away. If there is no green growth underneath, then remove the entire branch. If you find green growth, cut above it.)

At the end of August, these plants typically begin putting all their energy toward new growth. (If pruning is necessary, there is a three-week time window to do so.) To prevent loss of flower buds this winter, Valley has two suggestions. For a fairly large hydrangea, wrap the plant in burlap to protect it from the wind all winter long. (Take a string, tie it to a sturdy branch and walk around the plant to tie it up.) It's important to leave the top open.

"Do not fill the burlap with leaves. Otherwise you will make a condo for mice," he said. If it snows - great. Snow is a good insulator for these plants.

The burlap can be removed in the spring when the weather starts to be consistently mild. Don't wait too long in the spring to remove the burlap (example, the whole month of May) or the plant will go into shock. If there is a late frost advisory in spring, throw a blanket over it to protect the buds and leaves.

The other option for care, which only applies to the Endless Summer category, is to cut the plant to 12 to 15 inches and cover it with leaves for winter protection. However, if you have a fairly large plant, or cringe at the thought of hacking your hydrangea to the ground, the wrapping in burlap option may be better for you.

How to Prune Macrophylla
Valley has been with Prides Corner Farms for 15 years and said hydrangeas consume the biggest part of their catalog. "They are a super complicated category of plants," he said. The macrophylla category is one of five.

For Endless Summer or Bloomstruck varieties, Valley recommends starting to prune when the plants start to flower. Cut long stems for bouquets to be brought indoors. "When you cut one flower off, the plant will send out two new flower shoots," he said.

But for other macrophyllas, the time is now. "If pruning is necessary, this is the time to prune them," Valley said. "Pruning is not an essential thing to do every season. You have a three-week time window: basically the beginning of August to the end of August. After that, the plant's full attention goes to flower buds for the next year."

Valley demonstrated pruning a Cityline Rio hydrangea. Prune the branches so the plant has an overall mounding shape. When pruning, be consistent. Don't leave a large rogue branch if the rest are short. (As shown in the video below.)

Pruning will increase the amount of flowers for the upcoming season. "It is simple to thin it out. It's the healthy thing to do," he said. Thin the plant out by one third, including older branches in the middle. This will open up the inside of the plant for sunshine and air circulation, which will encourage growth. "Follow the stem down and trim it right out."

Floral Friday

There are so many flowers blooming this week in the garden, which is fitting as we enter the last "official" month of summer. I found myself photographing a lot of closeup flower shots this week.

One surprise (for me) has been the number of phlox plants beginning to bloom this week. I didn't realize my garden had so many! Sometimes I forget what I have planted.